Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American politician from South Carolina. He was a prominent member of one of the richest families in the antebellum Southern United States, owning thousands of acres of cotton land in South Carolina and Mississippi, as well as thousands of slaves. He became a senior general in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. He also had a career as a leading Democratic Party politician in state and national affairs.
By 1877, at the end of the Reconstruction era, Hampton was a leader of the Redeemers, white Southerners who successfully fought to restore white supremacy in the state. His campaign for governor was marked by extensive violence by the Red Shirts, a white-supremacist paramilitary group that disrupted elections and suppressed black voters in the state. Hampton was elected governor, serving from 1876 to 1879. After that, he served two terms as U.S. Senator from 1879 to 1891.
Early life and career
Wade Hampton III was born in 1818 at 54 Hasell St. in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest son of "Colonel" Wade Hampton II (1791–1858) and Ann (née Fitzsimmons) Hampton. His mother was from a wealthy family in Charleston. After the War of 1812, his father built a fortune on land speculation in the Southern states.Tagg, p. 359.
The senior Hampton was an officer of dragoons in the War of 1812 and an aide to General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. The boy was the grandson of Wade Hampton (1754–1835), lieutenant colonel of cavalry in the American War of Independence, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and brigadier general in the War of 1812. Wade III's uncle by marriage, James Henry Hammond, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, Governor of South Carolina and, in the late 1850s, elected to the United States Senate.
Wade Hampton III grew up in a wealthy planter family, receiving private instruction. He had four younger sisters. His was an active outdoor life; he rode horses and hunted, especially at his family's North Carolina summer retreat, High Hampton.High Hampton history . All of his life he took hunting trips alone into the woods, hunting American black bears with only a pack of hounds and a knife.Ackerman, p. 16, cites Theodore Roosevelt's The Wilderness Hunter for saying that he killed 80 bears over the years. Ackerman suggests the number may be exaggerated, but notes that Hampton was "an excellent and fearless hunter".
In 1836, Hampton graduated from South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) and was trained for the law, although he never practiced. His father assigned certain plantations to him to manage in South Carolina and Mississippi. The younger man also became active in Democratic state politics.
He was elected to the South Carolina General Assembly in 1852 and was a state senator from 1858 to 1861. After Hampton's father died in 1858, he inherited a vast fortune, plantations, and enslaved people. Database at
Civil War During the Civil War, Hampton served in the Confederate army, resigning from the South Carolina Senate to enlist as a private in the South Carolina Militia. The governor of South Carolina insisted that Hampton accept a colonel's commission.
Although he had no military experience, his years of managing plantations and serving in state government were considered signs of leadership. Furthermore wealthy men were commissioned based on social standing and expected to finance military units. Hampton organized "Hampton's Legion", which consisted of six companies of infantry, four companies of cavalry, and one battery of artillery. He paid for all the weapons for the unit. Hampton proved a natural cavalryman—brave, audacious, and a superb horseman. Of officers without previous military experience, he was one of three to achieve the rank of Lieutenant General, the others being Nathan Bedford Forrest and Richard Taylor.
Hampton's first combat came at the First Battle of Bull Run, where he deployed his unit at a decisive moment, reinforcing a Confederate line that was retreating from Buck Hill, giving the brigade of Thomas J. Jackson the time to reach the field and make a defensive stand. A bullet creased Hampton's forehead when he led a charge against a U.S. artillery position. It was the first of five wounds he would receive during the war.
Peninsula Campaign During the winter of 1861–62, Hampton's Legion was assigned to the command of Gustavus W. Smith. Smith's division accompanied the rest of Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Northern Virginia down the Virginia Peninsula to aid in the Siege of Yorktown (1862) before Johnston withdrew to Richmond. On May 23, 1862, Hampton was promoted to Brigadier General. At the Battle of Seven Pines on May 31, 1862, he was severely wounded in the foot, but while still under fire, he remained on his horse while the bullet was removed and the foot was treated. Hampton returned to duty in time to fill in as leader of an infantry brigade for Stonewall Jackson at the end of the Seven Days Battles, although the brigade was not significantly engaged.
Maryland Campaign After the Peninsula Campaign, General Robert E. Lee reorganized his cavalry forces as a division under the command of Major General J.E.B. Stuart, who selected Hampton as his senior subordinate to command one of two cavalry brigades. Hampton's brigade was left in Richmond to observe McClellan's withdrawal from the Peninsula, while the rest of the army participated in the Northern Virginia Campaign. Thus, Hampton and his men missed the Second Battle of Bull Run, re-joining the army shortly thereafter; but were present on the extreme left of the Confederate line at Antietam. His brigade was selected to participate in Stuart's Chambersburg Raid in October 1862, in which Hampton was briefly appointed "military governor" of the town following its surrender to the Confederate cavalry.Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 1, Fort Sumter to Perryville. New York: Random House, 1958. . During the winter of 1862, Hampton led a series of cavalry raids behind enemy lines and captured numerous prisoners and supplies without casualties, earning a commendation from General Lee. In November 1862, he captured 137 men of the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry at Hartwood Presbyterian Church.
Hampton was not present at the Battle of Fredericksburg or the Battle of Chancellorsville due to being detached for raids elsewhere.
Stuart's Christmas Raid Hampton's brigade would play a role in the December 27–29, 1862 Christmas Raids of Union supply depots in Virginia.
Gettysburg Campaign At the Battle of Brandy Station, the war's largest predominantly cavalry battle, Hampton was slightly wounded, and his younger brother Frank was killed. Immediately thereafter, Hampton's brigade participated in Stuart's raid in Pennsylvania, swinging around the U.S. army and losing contact with Lee. While attempting to reunite with Lee, Hampton engaged in cavalry battles at Upperville, Fairfax Court House, and Hanover.
Stuart and Hampton reached the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, late on July 2, 1863. While just outside town protecting the Confederate's flank, Hampton was confronted by a U.S. cavalryman pointing a rifle at him from 200 yards. Hampton charged the soldier before he could fire his rifle, but another soldier blindsided Hampton with a saber cut to the back of his head. Hampton's Legion fought the U.S. Cavalry under the command of George Armstrong Custer all evening, resulting in a draw at the Battle of Hunterstown.
On July 3, Hampton led the cavalry attack east of Gettysburg at the same time as Pickett's Charge, attempting to disrupt the U.S. rear, but collided with Custer's cavalry. He received two more saber cuts to the front of his head but continued fighting until he was again wounded with shrapnel to the hip. Colonel Laurence S. Baker assumed command of Hampton's Brigade after the injury. Hampton was carried back to Virginia in the same ambulance as John Bell Hood.
On August 3, 1863, Hampton was promoted to Major General and received command of a cavalry division. His wounds from Gettysburg were slow to heal, so he did not return to duty until November.
Overland Campaign During the Overland Campaign of 1864, Hampton's cavalry fought at the Battle of Todd's Tavern during the Battle of the Wilderness. It patrolled the left flank of the Confederate position at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, during which time J.E.B. Stuart was killed at the Battle of Yellow Tavern. Hampton escorted Lee's withdrawal to Richmond, fighting at the Battle of North Anna and the Battle of Haw's Shop before being detached from Lee's army to deal with Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's cavalry destroying central Virginia's railroad. He distinguished himself further with a victory at the Battle of Trevilian Station, the war's largest all-cavalry battle. After his return to Richmond, he fought at the Battle of Saint Mary's Church and was given command of the Cavalry Corps by Robert E. Lee on August 11, 1864. For the rest of the war, Hampton lost no cavalry battles.
Petersburg In September 1864, during the Siege of Petersburg, Hampton conducted what became known as the "Beefsteak Raid", where his troopers captured over 2,400 head of cattle and more than 300 prisoners behind enemy lines. He successfully led the cavalry through battles at Sappony Church, Ream's Station, and Vaughan Road. In October, during the Battle of Boydton Plank Road, Hampton sent his son, T. Preston Hampton, a lieutenant serving as one of his aides, to deliver a message. Shortly afterward, Hampton and his other son, Wade IV, rode in the same direction. Before traveling , they came across Preston lying on the ground; he was fatally wounded and soon died. As young Wade dismounted, he was also shot but survived.New York Times, June 27, 1897.
Carolinas Campaign While Lee's army was bottled up in Petersburg, Virginia in January 1865, Hampton returned to South Carolina via train to recruit soldiers and cut off William Tecumseh Sherman's march through the Carolinas. He was promoted to Lieutenant General on February 14, 1865, effective the morning of the 17th. Later that evening, during the Capture of Columbia, Hampton and his forces would flee the state capital as Sherman's forces entered the city. Much of Columbia was burned to the ground, including Hampton's childhood home, Millwood Plantation. Hampton's cavalry rode north to engage with U.S. Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's (often called "Kill-Cavalry") cavalry at Monroe's Crossroads and Morrisville.
Hampton drew up plans for the Battle of Bentonville, but eventually General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee at Bennett Place in Durham, North Carolina. Hampton refused to surrender and nearly got into a personal fight with U.S. Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick at the Bennett Farm. Hampton did not officially submit to federal authorities until May 15, 1865, nearly three weeks after the events at Bennett Place.
Postwar years Together with Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, Hampton became a proponent of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy movement. He worked to justify the Confederacy's loss and lamented the loss of his wealthy antebellum life. He embraced the negationist belief that slavery as practiced in the American South was benign and that black people were racially inferior to white people, but that upper-class whites like himself should act in paternalistic fashion. Hampton resented the U.S. government's use of United States Colored Troops in occupying forces in South Carolina.Fritz Hamer, "Wade Hampton: Conflicted Leader of the Conservative Democracy?" Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association (2007) pp.27-40.